Introduction by Mr Bovaird The impact of digital technology on all our lives has become becoming quite profound in recent years. Our society and economy are changing rapidly. At its best it brings enormous efficiencies and a greater ability to communicate and share ideas. At its worst it brings about change often faster than society can cope. Education is not exempt from these changes. Our students have grown up using technology and are often far more skilled in its use than parents or staff. Understanding and dealing with change is an essential element of a good education. With the advent of mobile devices, wireless and ultra-fast broadband the knowledge of the world is now accessible to all students instantly, in any location. We must accept this reality and learn together how to use the technology as a tool in our schools for the benefit of our students. The technology should be used as the tool that enhances student achievement, that helps engage the non-engaged, that extends the capable, that organises the disorganised, and helps those with disabilities. Lynfield has developed a highly sophisticated digital environment to support student and staff learning. Our Bring your Own Device (BYOD) program started in 2014 with the goal of enhancing learning. We have the hardware in place. We have informed, committed staff who have been trained in how the technology can enhance current teaching practice and extend it further. At Lynfield we are ensuring that this generation of students, and those that follow, are equipped with the skills to make the most of the technology in a safe and supportive environment. I want Lynfield to be a place where students up skill when they arrive each day rather than down skill and are confident to take those skills into the work place or Tertiary study. We seek your support in our endeavour to equip our students for today yet with an eye to the future.
What is e-learning? The Ministry of Education has published a number of documents outlining the developments and support it is giving to e-learning. The Ministry s TKI website (www.tki. org.nz) has the stated aim of providing information, resources, and curriculum materials to enhance teaching and learning, raise student achievement, and advance professional development for teaching staff and school managers and includes a significant number of links and material related to e-learning that are used at Lynfield College. e-learning can cover a range of activities from supporting learning using internet access through desktop computers or devices connected to Lynfield College s wireless or cabled networks, to blended learning using a combination of traditional and e-learning practices, to learning that is delivered entirely online through the College s Online Learning Network called e-lync. Whatever the technology, however, learning is the still the most important element at Lynfield College. e-learning is not simply associated with devices or internet links, but forms part of a conscious choice by Lynfield College to provide the best and most appropriate ways of promoting effective learning. Lynfield College supports the Ministry of Education s confidence that best practice e-learning enables accessible, relevant, and high-quality learning opportunities that improve student engagement and achievement. e-learning supports students reaching their full potential and enhances the development of independent, lifelong learners.
e-learning in the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC, 2007; page 36 ) Information and communication technology (ICT) has a major impact on the world in which young people live. Similarly, e-learning (that is, learning supported by or facilitated by ICT) has considerable potential to support the teaching approaches outlined in the above section. For instance, e-learning may: assist the making of connections by enabling students to enter and explore new learning environments, overcoming barriers of distance and time facilitate shared learning by enabling students to join or create communities of learners that extend well beyond the classroom Schools should explore not only how ICT can supplement traditional ways of teaching but also how it can open up new and different ways of learning. assist in the creation of supportive learning environments by offering resources that take account of individual, cultural, or developmental differences enhance opportunities to learn by offering students virtual experiences and tools that save them time, allowing them to take their learning further.
e-learning in a BYOD classroom Some of the many benefits of BYOD are outlined below: Students can access resources anytime, anywhere. Learning can extend beyond the classroom walls Collaboration between students is easier Better prepares students for the use of technology at university and in the workforce Teachers can provide personalised instruction Students can have more choice over their learning Education can be more interactive and engaging d d Supports effective pedagogy (teaching practice) in the classroom
Staff Professional Learning As part of BYOD at Lynfield College staff have participated in an extensive professional learning programme. The focus of this has been on successfully integrating ICT into teaching and learning. Staff have been encouraged to adopt a blended approach to technology integration. This means that staff will use technology as a tool to enhance student learning. The focus of the lessons will still be on effective pedagogy (teaching practice). Over the past three years staff professional learning has covered a wide variety of different strategies the staff can use in the classroom.
Online @ Lynfield e-lync For the past four years Lynfield College has been using e-lync to give students any time anywhere access to their course work. All subjects have their own course on e-lync where students will find lesson materials, assignments, quizzes, video clips, discussion forums as well as links to many of the Web 2 tools their teachers are using. Students are also able to access their timetables and NCEA entries and results though the SMS block in e-lync. Google Apps In 2012 all Lynfield College students were given access to Google Apps in Education. This means the students all have access to apps such as gmail, calendar and Google Drive. Google Drive allows students to create word documents, spreadsheets and presentations as well as upload existing documents. Students can use the calendar function to organise their assignments, homework and meetings. Teachers are able to manage the student s accounts through the use of Hapara the Teacher Dashboard. ClickView and e-tv ClickView and e-tv enable teachers and students to access a digital library of educational video programmes via the internet. Video clips and television programmes can be watched in full or be edited or annotated for more interactive use in the classroom.
ebooks & EPIC The Library has a rapidly growing collection of ebooks, both fiction and non-fiction, which can be borrowed for a period of 3 weeks. Titles can be accessed through the online catalogue or directly from our ebook portal and downloaded via a PC or Apple and Android apps. Students can also access the EPIC Database from school or home. This offers full-text articles on New Zealand and international subjects, biographies, and more Lynfield LynC In 2014 Lynfield College launched a mobile app. This app enables the community to keep up to date with what is happening at Lynfield College. Features of the app include access to the daily notices, newsletters, events calendar, parent portal, e-lync, the senior assessment calendar etc. The app is available for free download from the Play Store on Android devices and the App store on Apple devices.
Digital Citizenship A digital citizen is someone who: is a confident and capable user of ICT uses technologies to participate in educational, cultural, and economic activities uses and develops critical thinking skills in cyberspace is literate in the language, symbols, and texts of digital technologies is aware of ICT challenges and can manage them effectively uses ICT to relate to others in positive, meaningful ways demonstrates honesty and integrity and ethical behaviour in their use of ICT respects the concepts of privacy and freedom of speech in a digital world contributes and actively promotes the values of digital citizenship Lynfield College encourages the students to conduct themselves online as they would in the real world. This means that the school Code of Conduct applies to both on and off line behaviour. Just as bullying is not acceptable nor is cyber bullying. Where appropriate subject teachers will teach the students good digital literacy skills as well. These include referencing your work, not infringing copyright laws etc. All Year 9 and 10 students complete a Digital Citizenship inquiry project. This gives them an opportunity to engage in some more meaningful work around the theme of Digital Citizenship. Netsafe New Zealand and the New Zealand Police also work with the students.
e-learning at Lynfield Maths Whizz Maths Whizz is a tutoring program designed to cater for students individual learning needs in a fun and exciting way. Regular use of this has led to an improvement in student achievement. It is used in the Year 9 Maths programme where Lynfield students report.. d d The activities get harder as you go up the levels which means it extends you but if it gets too hard you can go back and watch the instructions again. d d The Probability topic challenged me but I mastered it on Maths-Whizz. I know I can do this topic now because my friend challenged me in Probability and I beat her! is further customised to match each teacher's needs. It is used in the Year 10 Maths (Maths Perfect) and across all year levels in International Languages (Language Perfect). Lynfield students using Education Perfect report. d d If I got a Maths question wrong, Maths Perfect showed me step by step how to do it. Then I could practice on a different problem. d d I find using Language Perfect really helps me learn the vocabulary for Chinese because I am always practicing and learning even when I am not in class and the teacher is not there. Education Perfect Education Perfect is an online tool for students daily learning, revision, and assessment. It is accessible from any computer with internet access and all the content is built to follow the New Zealand curriculum and
Learning English via Video Adult ESOL students are now learning English via video clips their teachers have made for them. Students can listen to the words as they are being underlined on the screen when texts are being read. They have found this very helpful. Learning Matrix e-learning has meant that students have flexibility around what tasks they complete and how they present these tasks. Instead of the students all completing the same task, teachers in Health, Social Studies and History are now designing matrices with several tasks on them so students can choose the ones that interest them the most. d d I like doing activities off a matrix because I can choose the ones that I am most interested in. d d The matrix is fun because I can pick what I want to do rather than doing what the teacher wants me to do.
Digital Assessment Digital assessment is the presentation of evidence for judging student achievement by using computer technology. e-asttle testing allows the College to track students achievement against the curriculum levels in Years 9 and 10 Reading and Maths. NZQA has plans for all NCEA external exams that are appropriate for an online format to be assessed digitally by the end of 2020. Lynfield College is part of a pilot programme which is trialing digital assessment of NCEA standards in Maths and Science. Interactive and Collaboration tools Below are examples of some interactive tools the teachers are using with their students. Zaption Zaption allows teachers to make video clips more interactive by including extra information, quiz questions and images to existing video clips such as those available on YouTube or e-tv. Kahoot Teachers in all areas of the school regularly use Kahoot quizzes with students. Kahoot allows the students to connect their devices to a quiz and answer the questions. Speed and accuracy are required to be top of the leader board. Students can replay the quizzes again at home to improve their performance. Nearpod Nearpod allows students to connect their devices to interactive presentations. Students can complete questions, watch video clips, answer polls as they go through the presentation with their teacher. No more boring PowerPoint presentations! Google Forms Google Forms are used in a variety of subject areas to create and analyse surveys and seek feedback from students. Some teachers are also using google forms for online tests.
e-learning and the Community: A group of Year 10 students have been working with Age Concern Avondale to teach older folks how to use mobile devices such as ipads, tablets and mobile phones. These workshops have been so successful and in demand that more will be held in the future. Below is a selection of comments from the older students and their younger teachers. d d Today was great! The tutor was very patient and was prepared to start with the basics d d I like the link with the school. Having one on one tuition was excellent. Young people are so skilled d d I enjoyed the fact that I got to talk and relate with someone older than me and I got to teach them something d d My buy was really nice and easy to talk to. I really enjoyed just chatting with her
FAQ s 1. What type of device do you recommend? We recommend a chromebook, laptop or tablet device. We do not recommend mobile phones due to the smaller screen size. 2. Who is responsible if the device is lost or stolen? Students are responsible for taking care of their own property while they are at school. This includes any electronic devices they bring with them. 3. Who is responsible for insurance and warranty issues? As it is the student s personal device they or their family are responsible for any insurance and warranty matters. 4. Are there any suggested accessories students should have with their devices? 5. Will there be any charging stations available for students? No The battery life of the devices we have recommended is at least 6 hours. This means that they should not require charging during the school day. 6. Who is responsible for any repairs or updates to the devices? As these devices are the student s personal property, they or their family are responsible for any repairs or updates. 7. Can my son / daughter use the device they used at Intermediate school? Yes - as long as it meets the device requirements. The BYOD section of the school website for further information. We recommend tablet devices have a screen protector and case.
White Swan Road, Auckland, New Zealand +64 9 627 0600 admin@lynfield.school.nz www.lynfield.school.nz